Pat and I had a quiet New Year celebration, relaxing at home, playing Scrabble and watching Pat's beloved Packers whoop the Bears. Ryan and Melissa joined us for dinner and then enjoyed the rest of the evening with friends, as did Zach (went to a party), Lindsay (went to a party), Patrick (went out with friends).
On New Year's Day, we hit the road and headed for Universal Studios Theme Park in Orlando. We were joined by Zach's buddies Justin & Brian and Lindsay's BFF Katie. Yep, just Pat and me and 5 teenagers for a week in Orlando. We had a fantastic time and thank the Zions, Plumleys and the Schulmans for sharing their kids with us. Everyone was well behaved and everyone got along - even during the long car rides. I interviewed each for BLOG purposes and here is what they had to say:
- Pat: "My most memorable experience for this trip was riding the Hulk again. Another highlight was Brian's Special Smoothie".
- Zach: "I would have to say my favorite rides were Men in Black, the Mummy and Spiderman. Brian's Smoothie was awesome!"
- Lindsay: "My favorite memory is our matching Hulk Shirts and riding the Mummy."
- Katie: "Jimmy Neutron was my favorite ride. My best memory was making Justin buy a poncho after he was soaked and then the rain stopped."
- Brian: "My best memory was doing Fear Factor! My favorite rides were Men in Black and Dueling Dragons."
- Justin: "I think my favorite part of the trip was getting soaked (especially after walking all day in the rain without a poncho and then riding Popeye's Barge). Back to the Future and Men in Black were fun too."
Here are some of the highlights from our trip as I remember them...the first thing that jumps out for me is Brian drinking that disgusting concoction for Fear Factor Live (I guess he is preparing for Fraternity Life). The good news is he did win the competition. I am not a big fan of roller coasters and stuff, but I did enjoy going on the few rides I did with all of the kids (E.T., Spiderman, Jaws)! We fit a lot into a short time - a lot of bang for our buck! Pat and I saw almost all of the shows and attractions - the Horror Make Up Show, Shrek 4D, The Blues Brothers, Poseidon, The Lucy Show Exhibit - all were great fun. Pat and I were also asked (and were paid for our time) to preview a pilot TV show. It was a horrible show and I think our essay critiques will save you the trouble and inconvenience of ever having to watch it. One of the comments I made was that the $15 they paid me was not enough to make up for the hour I lost being punished to watch the show. While not at the parks, we were drying off (boy did it rain) in the condo we rented, watching movies, playing Guitar Hero or Texas Hold 'Em.
I mustn't forget, the whole impetus for the trip in the first place was for Pat and I to see Van Morrison. Van doesn't get to the states much so we wanted to make sure we caught him during his North American tour (only 5 cities this trip). Last time we saw Van was in Rome, Italy. The concert in Italy is unparallelled, but this was pretty cool as well (though were were disappointed that he didn't play our song "Have I Told You Lately" or "Into The Mystic").
Check back with us again soon! Lindsay and I have a trip coming up next week with our dear friends Karin and Rachael. If you want to post a comment, you have to code it as anonymous. Stay well!
